Monument Avenue

Monument Avenue is an avenue and upper-class neighborhood in Richmond, Virginia. The avenue is known for its City Beautiful-era statues memorializing Confederate figures such as Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, J.E.B. Stuart, Stonewall Jackson, and Matthew Fontaine Maury, as well as African-American tennis star and humanitarian Arthur Ashe. On events such as Lee's birthday and Confederate History Month, members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans gather along the avenue in period military costumes. The statues became controversial during the 21st century due to the movement to tear down statues accused of glorifying white supremacism, and there were calls to remove them.